I went to the Halloween parade this year. How fun! I haven't been to one in a long time, but getting the grannies ready brought back many a memories from raising my own children. You remember those times don't you? Makeup on the white carpet; grease paint that had to wear off because it wouldn't wash off; a messy house; pulling out all kinds of stuff from the kitchen, your closet, the bathroom .............. just whatever it took to make that 'perfect' costume, you know the ones that would "WIN". I thought that was so important back in my day, my kids just wanted a bought costume, but NO, I had to drive myself crazy putting together what I thought was a the perfect costume. So now its 2008 and we are getting Jaxon ready for the parade. He has this cooler than cool Frankenstein costume and I did some artsy makeup on him and he was lookin' really great...until the B word came up, yep Batman! That was what he REALLY wanted to be, but with just 15 minutes until the parade we finally talked him into being Frank and just scaring Batman. The uncles gave him lessons on how to walk like Frank and we were off. EXCEPT we decided to put a costume on Emma and put her in the parade too. So off to Jeremy's to get the costume, aunt Daunee' was throwing it on Emma as we pulled up to the curb just a few minutes before the parade started. I have to admit there were some really cool home made costumes..........(I'm talking about you Becky) and some that were so adorable you just couldn't stand it and then some so inventive I wonder where they got their creativity. Anyhow here we go a parading down the street, Brandi with the little ones, me with the cameras falling off my shoulders and the family in behind cheering them on. First up was Emma in the 0-2 age group, those little guys were Oh so Sweet! And did she win..........yes she did - 3rd Place. So there goes the 'only the homemade costumes win' from my time ;0) Then Mr. Jaxon was up with the 3-4year olds. He didn't have a clue what we were doing with him but he did get to stand up on the trailer with his pals Meggie and Kyler so that was good. Did he win.....yes he did! He won the 'Scariest' division and that made him Oh so Happy! (unfortunately there wasn't a Bat Man to scare but it was great just to be scary). Thanks to many businesses, we then went Trick or Treating in the downtown area. I swear it was like a Norman Rockwell painting. Here was this beautiful, golden day with just the right temperature, a few leaves blowing in the street, the trees all golden and fall was all around us. And then there were these precious little ghouls and goblins running up and down the streets in their costumes, not a care in the world. I was in love with the day! It sure makes you appreciate the small town atmosphere that we have where kids can run into the stores/bars and get treats and everyone in town stops to talk to them. My hats off to Jess and her crew and all the businesses that made this possible!

Jaxon turned 3 on Oct. 14. His party was held at the Fire Hall and as the guest of honor he was treated to a ride on the old fire truck along with his friends and family. He proudly rode on the front seat next to grandpa and had the time of his life. Good job on the party mom!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

You've heard of us before, you may even be one. Living in such a beautiful area as we do, one can not help but be in awe of the beauty of our changing seasons. Fall in particular, we don't have the reds from the maples but our yellows, green, golds, browns and oranges are absolutely the best. Its almost a contest between myself and Brandi, seeing that first yellow tint in the trees as summer wanes and fall comes upon us. We live in anticipation for the colors to peak and then are saddened as they start to fade, but we never, ever get tired of looking at the beauty. A couple of years ago I went to Vermont, Main, & New York with my good friend Satch. I never saw anything so beautiful in my entire life, and it was the best experience. Before I die I shall return to the New England states for one more Peep.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

My pumpkin patch is not a new idea as you all know. For me it started many years ago when Bob Scoggan (old BS to those of you who knew him well), planted all of Mrs. Avey's garden spot into more pumpkin patch than garden. Because he and Jeff were old pals and Jeff would help him plow or work on a tractor Bob would always stop with produce all summer long for us. But what we enjoyed most was his generosity in letting us bring the kids down and pick pumpkins. Being a FALL/HALLOWEEN GURU it was like winning the lottery. The summer that old BS got sick Jeff tried to help with the garden and somehow we ended up taking over Bob's garden. When he passed away we wanted to somehow remember Bob and what better way than to plant that old garden spot into pumpkins. The first year it was a family affair with Brandi, Jaxon, Greg, Taylor, Annie, Jeremy, Cherokee, Austin, Adrianne, Jeff and myself digging, planting and watching it grow. Since then Greg, Jeff and I have kept the garden growing so to speak. We aren't retired like Bob was, so the size of the garden has shrunk but we still manage to harvest a good size pumpkin crop. I guess this is our little way of honoring Bob. Since we plant in honor of Bob Scoggan and my nieces and nephews call me 'aunt Bob' it has now become "Aunt Bob's Pumpkin Patch" You can NOT believe the enjoyment we get from watching the little ones and big ones too come over and pick pumpkins. They search and search for just the perfect pumpkin. The little guys either want the smallest pumpkin in the patch or the LARGEST one. If we have time we like to give them a little ride in the wagon pulled by the 4-wheeler. We have made many a new friends doing this and each year there seems to be more and more kids enjoying the fruits of our labor. Greg and I have a vision of some day making this patch even bigger and better but until then Happy Fall Ya All and for all of those who sent their thanks - Thank You!

Ok I never participate in any of those submit a picture, craft, poem etc. contests. But I got such a kick out of taking pictures of Twi's kitten that I just had to submit it to Chad Rad and we won!! I also submitted a picture of Kendall. She was having such a good time in Aunt Bob's pumpkin patch she had us all in stitches. Isn't she a hoot? We just couldn't stop taking pictures so I will add a few more in the next post.

Well, everyone has been blogging and it seemed like so much fun, well reading everyone's blog is fun. So I thought I would try it. I can add pictures for everyone to see and that is fun. So please join me, see what's up in my life and see the latest photos cuz. as you all know, there are few days in my life that I don't pick up a camera and find something or someone to photograph.